Taking your toddler to a theater production can feel like a risky business. No parent wants to walk out of a show early with a squirmy or screaming child. Luckily, several theaters in our area are creating shows specifically for the younger set. With affordable prices, shows that run under an hour, and engaging, age-appropriate material, you can set aside some of these worries.
Taking in a quality theater production with your toddler can be an experience to relish. It’s a great way to introduce the arts. You get to connect with and engage your children and their imaginations. And you get an opportunity to sit back and watch their eyes light up as something amazing happens on stage.
Theater for the very young has been a staple in Europe for years, where significant art subsidies help theaters do this work. Yet it’s making its way here, too, and Seattle is one of the cities at the forefront.
“There is a rise in parents wanting artistic experiences for their toddlers,” says Linda Hartzell, artistic director at Seattle Children’s Theatre. “Maybe more parents are home because of the economy, but I am finding they want to do things with their children instead of just signing them up for classes. They want to be silly and creative with their kids.”
Other local theaters produce shows with younger kids in mind including StoryBook Theater, which performs throughout the Puget Sound area, SecondStory Repertory in Redmond, and the Northwest Puppet Center in Seattle..
StoryBook Theater produces original plays based on fairy tales with witty music, fanciful sets and costumes, and plenty of comedy thrown in for good measure. There are always children younger than 3 years old in the audience, and Susan Bardsley, who composes and plays the music (and also cofounded the theater), encourages young kids to attend if they’re ready. She’s seen plenty of children in their first year of life sitting on their parents’ laps and following along.
“We see ourselves as the first step; an introduction to theater,” Bardsley says. “The next logical step is Seattle Children’s Theatre, which does great work for older kids who can sit still longer. We are like the kindergarten for the theater community.”
Young audiences get to be active, vocal participants in StoryBook plays. It’s hilarious to watch the actors search for something right under their noses while the kids get to shout out where to look. You aren’t told to be quiet, and the plays are entertaining enough that you won’t have to worry about your kids wiggling around too much. And, the shows are less than an hour in length.
StoryBook Theater performs in Seattle, Kirkland, Renton and Everett, and next on the docket is October’s performance of The Boy Who Cried Wolf.
Another treasure in this area, Seattle Children’s Theatre made its first foray into toddler theater with The Green Sheep, which they have staged three times in recent years. With the lights up and the action happening around the kids so that they can mill about, this charming play was designed as a first theater experience and was well-loved by local parents.
“One of our goals with The Green Sheep was to get parents to start earlier, to get into the habit of art so that it gets into their souls,” Hartzell says. “We want kids to be creative and resilient and to understand empathy, which are very important attributes these days.”
The new season at Seattle Children’s Theatre kicks off with Harold and the Purple Crayon in September, a fully produced, two-act show recommended for children ages 4 and older. Next season, however, Hartzell is bringing one of her original creations to toddler audiences: Dot & Ziggy. In this play, two unwavering opposites – a skunk and a ladybug – end up in an earnest friendship. It was performed to acclaim at Chicago Children’s Theatre this year, and Hartzell says she can’t wait to offer it to Seattle.
At Redmond’s SecondStory Repertory, new Executive Director Mark Chenovick is helping to take the theater in a more family-oriented direction. They are offering an additional play in the children’s theater series this year, bringing the total to five. The season opens in September with an adaptation of the beloved kids’ book Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type. And SecondStory Repertory plans to incorporate more audience participation moments to engage the little ones.
After the carpet rolls out next to the stage at SecondStory shows, the kids scramble to get close to the action. “Theater is a socially-oriented event, much more so than a movie,” Chenovick says. “This visceral, human-to-human experience is at the root of ancient storytelling.”
SecondStory Repertory offers specially discounted Sunday performances for families with children younger than 4. It is the same play that’s performed on Fridays and Saturdays, but both actors and audience are aware that there will be more noise because of the wee ones.
Northwest Puppet Center in Seattle is another great way to introduce kids to theatrical performances. There are often little ones in the audience, sitting on the carpeted risers and enjoying the action. Instead of giving specific age recommendations for the shows – young kids are so different with what they can handle – parents are encouraged to call or email with their concerns. The troupe kicks off their season in November with Qweti: Tales of the Makah Tribe. In this particular show, there is a life-sized storyteller puppet, a sea monster and ogress that may be intimidating for tots.
When it comes to toddlers, Bardsley believes in keeping it simple, yet never talking down to them. “They are so full of imagination and theater, dance, music – all of the arts – really feed that time of life,” she says. “Our audience is so smart; their brains are learning at a rate that is never duplicated in our lifetime, and we should creatively engage that brain. The arts are a good, healthy thing.”
